Most of the big names trying to win this year’s U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club were immediately identifiable. Rory. Rickie. Scottie. Tommy. Jon. All golf superstars—all with a reasonable chance to make a final day run at the hardest major championship in golf. But as LACC, as the course is known, got tougher over the weekend, it was largely unheralded Wyndham Clark who prevailed, shooting an even par final round to better many of the game’s brightest lights.
Who is Clark and how did he get it done?
Clark has played full-time on the PGA Tour since 2018, winning this year at the Wells Fargo Championship and elevating himself to No. 32 in the World Golf Rankings. He’s propelled himself forward with a game that has few obvious shortcomings—he’s long, he has a strong short game, and is 15th overall in strokes gained. But paired in the final group with Rickie Fowler, few thought he’d hold off the likes of Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm.
In fact, he did just that, playing steady golf through the fourth round, including two pars on the nasty final two finishing holes. He finished at 10-under, one shot ahead of McIlroy.
Many underestimated Clark, who shot 1-under on Saturday to get into the final group and seemed to want the attention that came with leading a major championship.
“I wanted to be in the final group,” he said after Saturday’s round. “Every shot matters out here. There’s a lot of emotion. It’s a U.S. Open and I wanted to be in that final group.”
He got his wish and played a strong final round, even as others struggled as LACC firmed up, and the USGA fought back with some difficult Sunday pins.
What happened to Rory?
McIlroy has had a lot of attention in the last two weeks, starting with being at the centre of the LIV/PGA Tour merger discussions, and then trying to win his first major championship since 2014, and his second U.S. Open 12 years after his victory at Congressional. “It’s been such a long time since I’ve done it,” said McIlroy. “I’m going out there to try to execute a game plan.”
His game plan went well; he led the field in greens in regulation, an indication that he’d be in the mix. After a strong start that saw him 8-under through the first two rounds, McIlroy couldn’t make up much ground on the weekend, shooting 1-under par. He had his chances, but four straight pars on the final holes left him one shot short. When his final putt slipped right of the cup on 18, it appeared likely that McIlroy would face another heartbreaking major championship.
“Overall when you’re in contention going into the final round of a U.S. Open, I played the way I wanted to play,” McIlroy said after the round. “There was just a couple of shots, two or three shots over the course of the round that I’d like to have back.”
Rickie is back? Or is he?
A little less than a year ago, Rickie Fowler, one of golf’s most popular players, was in free fall. Perennially ranked among the top players in the world for more than a decade after breaking onto the PGA Tour in 2010, Fowler, who loved bright, attention-seeking clothing, was a superstar. But by the middle of last year he’d fallen to 167th in the world before slowly climbing back. Ranked 45th in the world coming into the U.S. Open, Fowler shot a record 62 in the opening round, and followed it up with a 2-under 68 on Friday. He was in the final group on Sunday with a chance to win an elusive major championship. “After going through the last few years, I’m not scared to fail,” he said. “I’ve dealt with that.”
But once again, Fowler couldn’t elevate his game when he needed to, shooting 5-over 75 to drop into a tie for fifth.
What’s in the bag: Wyndham Clark
Driver: Titleist TSi3, 9 degrees.
3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2, 15 degrees.
Irons: Titleist T200 (3), Titleist 620 CB (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (46, 52, 56), Vokey Design WedgeWorks (60)
Putter: Odyssey Jailbird Versa
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x